10

The crossing to Dolphin Island was the smoothest ferry ride I’d experienced since moving to the west of Ireland. I’d grown used to rough crossings and made sure to carry vitamin B6 tablets in my purse. Today, the ferry sliced through the water with the barest of rocking motions. Sunlight danced off the surface, imbuing the sea with a magical air. I kept an eye out for dolphins but saw none.

Exhausted from my impromptu run to the gangway, I slumped onto a seat by a railing on the starboard side. My meds were doing a reasonable job of keeping my pain levels manageable, but they zapped me of all energy. After I caught my breath, I scanned the deck.

The ferry was crammed with tourists, plus a few locals, who I guessed were straggling movie extras. I’d visited Dolphin Island with Liam last summer, a day that had involved the discovery of a dead body, albeit not on the island itself. In the aftermath, I’d been too stressed to properly appreciate the rare bird sanctuary that made Dolphin Island a popular tourist destination. If the beautiful weather held, I’d make the trip again and take the time to see the bird sanctuary in its entirety.

This summer, the reopening of Dunfarrig Castle would attract even more people to the island. Abandoned to the elements in the mid-eighteenth century, the castle and its gardens, including the infamous Poison Garden, had fallen into disrepair. Funded by a government grant, a total renovation and refurbishment had begun several years ago and had been completed earlier this year. The movie company had hired the castle for part of its shoot. When the shoot was over, the castle would be formally opened to the public.

Once I was feeling human again, I made a beeline for the onboard café. The coffee sucked, but I needed a jolt of something to stop me from snoozing on the job. I joined the line of tourists and ordered a triple espresso. Yeah, don’t judge me. I’d had a rough twenty-four hours. The brown liquid that passed for coffee was drinkable but lacked the kick I needed. I decided to add a Red Bull to my order, knocked it back in a few gulps, and ordered a second.

The man behind the counter was amused. “Hungover?”

“I wish.” I gestured to my sling. “I’m running on no sleep, pain meds, and a mammoth to-do list.”

“Got it. The second Red Bull’s on the boat.” He snorted at his own joke. “Get it?”

“Barely,” I said, “but thank you.”

Clutching the energy drink in my only functioning hand left me to the mercy of the gentle rocking. Thank goodness the water was mild today. If it’d been choppier, I’d have face-planted on the stairs. As it was, I made it back on deck without incident and was searching for a free seat when a towering behemoth of a woman blocked my path.

Theresa Crawley loomed over me, her hands on her hips. She’d slung a sizeable red bag over her shoulder, and its snake pattern didn’t gel with the rest of her outfit. Unlike Storm MacKenzie, Theresa couldn’t pull off clashing colors and patterns. “You again.” Her hostility crackled like static electricity. “Are you following me?”

“Your cab cut in front of mine,” I remarked, recalling the incident in front of the ferry terminal. “You’re an extra in the movie?”

“Yes,” she barked. “Not that it’s any of your business. Are you stalking me? I’m not going to hire you if that’s what you’re after. You and your assistant ought to be locked up.”

I drew in a breath and counted slowly to five before releasing it. “I’m not following you, Theresa. As far as I’m concerned, my dealings with you finished the moment I returned your letter. Like you, I’m on my way to Dolphin Island to participate in the movie shoot.”

Her nostrils flared. “I suppose your sister pulled strings to get you a role.”

“Believe what you want.”

Theresa looked over my shoulder. “I don’t see that Lenny guy lurking. Please tell me he won’t be part of the shoot.”

A sly smile snuck across my face. “Sorry to disappoint you, but Lenny is already on Dolphin Island. But take heart. There are over two hundred extras there this weekend, plus the regular cast and crew. You shouldn’t have a problem avoiding us.”

She snarled and barged past me, deliberately jolting my bad arm with her large red bag. I sucked in a breath at the stab of pain caused by the impact. Seriously, I was almost to the point of sympathizing with the sender of the poison pen letters. Theresa Crawley was a nasty piece of work. On the plus side, her blatant aggression eliminated all feelings of responsibility I harbored over solving her case. As far as I was concerned, she could look after herself.

For the duration of the journey, I sipped my energy drink and typed a one-handed email to Lenny. I’d filled him in on the basics last night after Liam had dropped me off at my door, but we needed to discuss strategy. Once we knew what our respective roles were, we’d focus on questioning the people we were working with and divide everyone else between us.

Unsurprisingly, my assistant had been thrilled to learn he’d be a movie extra after all. The thought of Lenny’s enthusiasm on the phone brought a smile to my lips. We’d have no trouble making his cover story appear authentic. My only concern was that he’d become so caught up in the movie role that he’d forget we were on the set with an ulterior motive.

Selling my presence on set would be more difficult, mainly to Liam. He knew how unenthusiastic I’d been about the movie and would be skeptical about me scoring a last-minute role. After last night’s meeting with Con, I’d avoided discussing the film set with Liam on the drive home. He’d told me he and Hannah were leaving on the earlier ferry. This gave me more time to concoct a convincing cover story to explain my sudden U-turn on appearing in Wedding Belles. Most people would buy my story about supporting Beth on her first movie set, but Liam wouldn’t believe it for a second. I had to figure out a way to put him off the scent of the real reason I was on the island.

When we docked at Dolphin Island, Luke Vaglietti waited for me on the pier. He wore his official bodyguard uniform of black suit, white shirt, and dark shades. A telltale bulge underneath his jacket indicated he was packing metal. I doubted he had a permit to carry a weapon in Ireland, but with a potential nutcase on the loose, I wasn’t about to rat him out to the cops.

He removed the shades when he recognized me, revealing a pair of brown eyes framed by dark lashes. “Hey, Maggie. Let me help you with your case.”

I happily relinquished my bag to him. “Thanks, Luke. The one-handed business is taking some getting used to.”

“Yeah, I can imagine.” He kept his voice no louder than a whisper. “You sure you’re up to this? Con’s the boss and all, but I’m concerned it’ll be too much for you to handle with your injured wrist.”

“Lenny’s here,” I replied, equally careful to keep the volume low. “With two of us on the case, we’ll be able to cover more ground in less time.”

Luke screwed up his face. “No offense to Lenny, but he’s not exactly Mr. Muscle.”

A mental image of my wiry assistant bulked up with muscles almost made me laugh out loud. “Lenny’s started a martial arts class.” At which he totally sucked, but I didn’t add this observation. “Besides, we don’t know that the incidents weren’t simple accidents. At this stage, there’s no reason to worry about danger.”

The bodyguard didn’t look convinced. “I know Eliza can be a drama queen at times, but she’s genuinely shaken.” At the end of the pier, he hooked my case onto the back of a golf cart. He gestured for me to climb into the passenger seat.

“Neat ride,” I said when we were motoring past the other ferry passengers. 

Luke slid me a sideways glance. “Don’t knock it. Dolphin Island is a car-free zone. You can imagine how much fun we had getting all our equipment up to the castle.”

“I’m not knocking the cart. I’m relieved we didn’t have to drag my bag all the way to the castle. I visited the place last summer, while the renovations were in full swing. If I recall correctly, it’s on the other side of the island, right?”

“Correct. It’s two miles as the crow flies, but we can’t drive straight.”

“Too many hills?”

Luke laughed. “That’s an understatement. The drive around the island adds an extra mile and a half. At the speed this baby moves, it’ll take us fifteen minutes to reach the set.”

“That’s not too bad,” I said. “It gives us the perfect opportunity to talk about the incidents on set. Harper included a list of everything that’s happened when she emailed my contract.”

“Yeah, I read the list.” With his shades back on, it was hard to read his expression, but his tone held a hint of skepticism.

“Do you have anything to add to Harper’s list?” 

Luke took his time in answering. “As far as I’m concerned, most of the items on her list were down to bad luck. Judd and Eliza getting food poisoning, for example. We ate at a fish restaurant the night they got sick, and they both had mussels. End of story.”

“You say ‘most’ of the incidents were bad luck. How many did you find suspicious?”

“Three,” Luke replied, this time with no hesitation. “The first was when a sandbag fell while we were shooting an indoor scene at the Belfast studio. The rope was sawn through. It didn’t look like an accident to me. The second was the time a pane of stained glass shattered next to Eliza. A prop collapsed onto it, but I never figured out how it could’ve happened. The third incident was yesterday’s drama. A hanging light fell right near Eliza and one of the crew.”

“So, you’re saying my sister is the target?”

Luke ran a steady hand through his close-cropped hair. “I don’t know, Maggie, but I’m not inclined to dismiss her fears as fast as Con is. Harper’s list of incidents—which is really Con’s list, by the way—makes it look like the movie set is the general target. But if we focus on the three incidents I mentioned and strike all the others, it seems Eliza was the intended victim.”

Despite the warm day, goosebumps prickled my skin. Had I been too quick to dismiss my sister’s fears? What if someone was trying to hurt her? I glanced at my sling. In my current condition, I wasn’t in a position to defend her. I’d never forgive myself if Beth got hurt. Had I made a massive mistake in accepting this job?